1 PROLOGUE PART I

The dirty and tattered clothes mixed with the distressed and tortured aspect of the young prisoner who passed through the halls of the supreme heavenly court, denoted years, perhaps millennia of loneliness and agony.

Whoever looked at the young goddess at that moment would recognize nothing of the strong and happy woman she had been. While walking could feel bones cracking. After years locked in a seal being able to walk as a normal person was at least exciting. As soon as the goddess approached the heavenly throne, the guards made her bend the knee.

Her of all people, who hated that damned clan that in her conception destroyed all her family her life her dreams. Now she was there, kneeling humiliated as a mere mortal before the heavenly emperor and all his counselors that sealed her for a thousand years unjustly.

— Mei Yang, princess of the ghost kingdom — The sound of the emperor's thick voice made her look up and face him. After a millennium the serene expression of that man sitting on the throne in his huge white tunic without spots or wrinkles had changed nothing, showing everyone wherever he went, that his blood was heavenly. That repulsive blood that the princess hated at the bottom of her being, that deserved to be wiped out of the face of the earth.

And one day, Mei Yang would do that, she would clean up the world of people like those unjust beings who thought they own justice. Her name and the name of her entire clan that had been slaughtered by the heavenly would finally be cleared. That's all she was thinking about as she looked at all the judgment court members around her the ruthless heavenly empress, the god of the four seas who was the emperor's younger brother. The goddess of the earth and some members she had not yet seen. They looked at her with contempt, they felt that her existence had to be destroyed. However, to Mei Yang's pleasure they could not kill her. Its dark essence was what kept world balanced and without it everything would fall apart.

Everyone stopped facing the prisoner when a very small man wearing totally red robes with long black hair carrying a huge white scroll entered the golden doors of the hall in hasty steps and climbed the huge mirrored staircase hat was giving access to the heavenly throne. The little man was Quon Xu, a lesser immortal of the sprite clan of the earth who was working for the god-greatest of the stars, the god who saw and wrote everything. And when he extended the scroll to the celestial emperor, Mei Yang knew that her destiny was set, she knew what her sentence would be.

— Ghost princess, her seal has weakened over the millennium. Who would have thought that would happen? — The emperor's voice sounded sarcastic. Who would have thought that she would be able to weaken the seal made by her own heavenly father? — Due to her crime and her early release from prison, we have to decide how to end her sanction. Her sentence would be five thousand years, but the seal was opened with a thousand. As such, the heavenly council will decide how the rest of your sentence will proceed.

— We should kill her! This princess almost broke the scale balancing the forces of the universe. — The words spoken by the earth goddess were just what was missing to increase the anger in Mei Yang's heart.

They killed your family, not her!

— Even if we wanted to, we cannot, The essence Yang is what keeps the cosmic order standing. We need Yang and Yin to balance the energies that move the universe. We had already enough deaths with the decimation of the ghost clan. Putting the princess Mei Yang to death's will bring up more chaos — This time it was the god of water who spoke, and he seemed seriously concerned about the order of energies that made up the world.

While the court argued about the future, Mei Yang just looked around at the splendor of the ambient. They lived in luxury, dressed in silk and covered in gold. The cloud-white hall with the doors and window covered in gold and silver. The floor looked like a mirror and reflected the pink sky giving something sumptuous to the palace. A large table lined with wines and a great banquet that she had only seen in her dreams, in waiting for the end of the meeting, and all those around her would be satisfied with food, while she would return to her suffering. The celestials had it all, while she lost her home, her family, her honor, her throne, even her freedom was slaughtered by the interests of the strongest. But, one day his sentence would end, and her revenge would come.

The heavenly emperor drew the attention of the entire council to him. It seemed that its end was finally ready. And the wicked smile that came from the celestial empress lips was enough for Mei Yang to know what her penalty would be. The worst pity of all for an immortal.

— The Seven Human Trials – the emperor said seriously While look at her — Her final sentence is to be sealed as a mortal for sixty years. Your powers will be sealed, like your memory as well, nothing you'll remember your past as a goddess. Will live as a mortal. — At that moment everyone was silent, that was proof that the council agreed with the sentence of the celestial emperor. Another paper was in the hands of the man sitting in the throne and he read the contents smiling. — Here is your destiny, your trajectory in the mortal world — he lifted the parchment and waved it in the air as if it were fun. — Princess Mei Yang, as I said, your form of goddess will be sealed and be reborn on earth as a mortal, will go through the seven mortal trials, pain, loss, illness, misery, hunger, loneliness and lastly the ordeal of love. Will complete the cycle of being born, growing and dying. If you survive all, will be able to return to your rightful place, the princess of the ghost kingdom. If you fail you'll die in that human form and the energy Yang will be extinguished from the world. Your honor is in your hands, princess.

Everyone smiled at the way he made sounds her title. Mei Yang would be sealed, would spend sixty years as a mortal and would be vulnerable to any attack from the celestials.

That was bad, very bad!

Strong hands made her get up abruptly. Gradually her vision became blurred due to the ferocity she was seized up.

Her body was thrown out of the celestial hall as if it she were a mere mortal garbage, and when Mei Yang fell on the first course of the courtyards at that huge emperor's palace, her bright face was scratched by the stones on the floor, making her head throbs slightly.

For a few seconds she focused her attention on the pain, but her heart was beating too much fast, causing her to lose her thoughts. And it wasn't a normal speed, it was something strange, like a familiar feeling.

She had felt it only once in her life, when her father was still alive. However, when looking up she saw a man standing in front of her his white robes were simpler than that of the celestial emperor, but something about him denoted superiority, his face was beautiful and conveyed peace.

Who was he?

— Princess Mei Yang, come with me! — the young man helped her to his feet and removed a lock of his long, tousled black hair from his years in prison and put it behind his ear. It was as if a sun she hadn't seen in years finally came to cover his cold, battered prison body. Mei Yang's mind could only think: Who was this man?

But, it didn't matter! He was a celestial, and she would take revenge on all celestials.

Including the young guy with an extremely beautiful face firm and with two-color eyes, one green and the other brown who seemed to disguise his cold gaze and warrior like demeanor that had probably plagued great kingdoms, and killed people at all levels of cruelty.

It was a contradictory description. Yet after thinking hard about that man's unmatched appearance and his cruel look finally your mind has it ascended.

He was the god of war, Yan Feng! The so famous general of the heavenly armies who never lost a war. He was known for being tyrannical with his enemies and very loyal to his comrades. And it astonishing beauty was famous for the nine heavens. Moreover, he was the son of the emperor and heir to all the heavenly strata.

—Set me free — his voice sounded harsh making Yan Feng remove her hands — Mei Yang rubbed his sore wrist by the handcuffs that held her for a thousand years and lifted his tired face — I don't want your help. I can walk alone to the palace of the stars.

—Can you really? — He smiled and something in his eyes flashed — I have always heard of the princess of the ghost kingdom Mei Yang. But I didn't know she was so rude.

— Yan Feng, leave the princess alone, don't you see that she is suffering? — Mei Yang recognized that man's voice right away. It was Ch'eng Huang, his old friend who had tried to get him out of prison a thousand years ago. He was still the same, nothing about him had changed. Only the cheerful and sweet expression he once wore was not there anymore. Just an anxious look that seemed to be afraid of the future. — Yang'Er *, come on, I have to take you to the seal.